Marker



(No Mqdel.)

E. 12- THOMAS.

MARKER. I

No. 598,666. Patented Feb, 8,1"898.

FIG. 1.

WITNESSESi INVENTOR:

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tion perpendicular to its face.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDIVARD P. THOMAS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MARKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 598,666, dated February 8, 1898.

I Application filed June 15,1896. .Serial No. 595,701. (li modeL) T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Markers and other Articles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to markers or indicators for distinguishing one of several lines upon a book, page, or copy, or for other analogous purposes, and aims to provide an improved device which can be conveniently and advantageously employed as a line marker or indicator for copying and like purposes or which can be used as a book or paper mark or leaf-holder.

Heretofore it has been customary to use a straight-edged ruler, bar, or plate for marking the particular line on a page to be copied or referred to, this marker being moved successively from line to line as necessary and bein gheld in position either by its own weight, by friction, or by the use of one hand, the other hand being free for copying or other purposes. Much difficulty has been found in preventing accidental disarrangement or displacement of such markers,the slipping of the marker to the wrong line or its inclination relatively to the lines frequently causing annoying errors and necessitating great care on the part of the user that he may be sure at each reference to the line that the marker is indicating the proper one. Such markers when used upon an inclined or irregular surface, as an inclined copy or the open pages of a'book, require constant holding to preserve their position and much care to follow the lines throughout the irregularities of the surface,the depressed portions of the latter being in'part concealed by the straight marker unless the user views the page from a direc- The necessity for holding a marker with the left hand prevents use of the latter for turning the objects or otherwise in making the copy or performing the other Work in connection with which the marker is employed. The marker,

being a simple bar or'plate, indicates only one side of the line to be followed, either the top or the bottom thereof, as the marker is placed above or below the line.

vMy invention aims to provide a marker which will be properly held in place, which will indicate both sides of the line, and which can be effectively employed for various kinds of copying and reference-work, and one useful for other than mere line-indicating purposes. To this end in carrying out my invention in its preferred form I provide a marker with a holding portion or provision engaging the object with which the marker is used for preventing accidental displacement of the latter, this portion being preferably a downwardly and inwardly extending part carried by the marker, the downwardly-extending part holding the body of the marker at right angles to the edge of the copy, and the inwardly-extending part passing beneath or between the pages of the copy and thereby resisting lateral and longitudinal movement of the marker, and I provide a marker having a longitudinal indicating or visual slot or portion flanked by marking edges or lines,'so that both the top and bottom of the line to be indicated can be isolated from the adjacent lines, and I provide a marker having a flexible body, preferably slightly curved, capable of adapting itself to the formation of the copy or page on which it is used, and I provide extensible marking portions, so that the marker can be elongated or contracted to cover a wide or narrow copy. The marker is also preferably formed with beveled or undercut edges, by which when inverted it can be used as a ruler or which can be used for paper-cutting or other purposes.

In the accompanying drawings,which show certain adaptations of my invention as applied to book line-markers and analogous devices, Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of an open book, showing the preferred form of my improved marker applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a similar marker of simpler form. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing another modification.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, I will first describe the preferred form of my invention as therein shown. In this figure, A represents the line-marker as a wholegB, the leaves of a book, on the left of which the marker is used; 0, the cover of the book; D, the back of the book; E, the crease or bend in the leaves where opened; F, the outer round or angle formed by the edges of the leaves when the book is open, and a the lines to be copied or indicated. The book B will be of any usual constructionas, for example, an account-bookand is merely taken as an example of a copy or article with which the marker can be used, for which may be substituted any other copy as, for instance, manuscript, note-sheets, or the like. The marker A has a body G, consisting of an elongated bar or plate adapted to lie on or rest against the face of the copy, which body preferably consists of two long arms or parts 1), formed of a single integral piece connected at one end by an intervening portion 0, free at their other ends, and separated by a slot I'I, extending from the portion a to and between their ends, which slot may be any suitable aperture or transparent or visual portion flanked by suitable borders, as the marking edges d of the arms 1), whereby through the slot and between the edges may be seen the line a to be indicated. The body G is preferably an opaque member, each of its arms being of sufficient width to conceal one or more of the lines adjacent to the slot I-I. Its marking edges 01, and preferably, also, the outer edges 6 of its arms, are beveled or undercut, so that these edges give a clear view on the line opposite the slot when the marker is used as such and can be used as cutting or tearing edges for severing paper when the marker is to be used as a paper-cutter or can be used as ruling edges by inverting the marker and laying its flat outer face'upon the surface to be ruled and then resting a pen against the edge as it is moved longitudinally thereof.

To guide the body G and preserve its position parallel with the lines, I provide it with a downwardly-extending portion I, which engages the edge of the copy, (the outer edges of the leaves B in, the use shown,) and by bearing thereagainst holds the body both in correct alinement with the lines and in a fixed position longitudinally thereof, while permitting it to be readily shifted from line to line along the edge of the copy. For conven--- stantially parallel with the body G, which passes under a part or the whole of the body, (in the construction shown under a large number of the leaves of the book,) and thus prevents accidental lifting of the marker, while tending to hold it in place by reason of the friction between the top and bottom faces of the holder and the leaves above and below it.

This friction is sufficient to resist all ordinary tendency to displacement and still is not so great as to interfere with the convenient shifting or adjustment of the marker.

'To facilitate manipulation of the marker, I prefer to provide it with a handle portion K, this being b'est constructed as a knob fixed to and projecting from the guide I and disposed at such a point thereon that it will be beneath the plane of the top surface of the body G, so that when the latter is inverted for ruling purposes the knob will not interfere with its assuming a fiat position on the surface to be ruled.

The body G, guide I, and holder J are preferably formed of a single integral piece, of uniform width throughout, bent sharply at f to give the desired angle between the body and guide, and then bent sharply inwardly at g to bring the latter inward parallel with the body. The beveled edges 6 at the top and bottom sides of the body are preferably continued along the guide I and holder J and across the front or inner edge of the latter as well as across the inner ends of the arms 17. These edges facilitate passing the arms or the holder between adjacent sheets or leaves.

The marker is best made extensible to cover varying widths of copy and is preferably also made slightly concave on its under side and also slightly flexible to fit irregular or curved surfaces to which it may be appliedas, for example, the curved face of the open leaf of a book. I prefer to construct each arm with an extension portion 19, having edges (1 coinciding with the edges 61 of the arms I) and having outer edges 6' coinciding with the edges 6 of the arms b, said pieces being adjustably connected to said arms in any suitable manner, as by means of ears h, formed integral with the pieces and bent over the edges of the arms to slide along the latter, and by means of ears 2', fixed to the arms and bent under the pieces to hold the latter movably against the under face of the arms. Each piece I) preferably consists of a thin flexible member having a slightly downwardly-curved outer end j, the permanent curvature of which approximates the curvature of the leaf of a book, which end terminates in a right-angle edge 70, from which is turned up an ear Z, which ear when the piece Z) is slid inward along the arm b will take over the outer edge of the latter and hold the piece firmly on the arm,while during the sliding of the piece in or out the ear l will serve as a convenient handle portion for grasping the piece.

In use with the construction shown in Fig. 1 the extension-pieces, if required, will be projected to the desired extent, the marker will be applied to the page desired by placing its body thereon and then moving it inward until the holder J is passed between two under leaves and the guide I has embraced the edges of the leaves, then moving the marker until the desired line is indicated, and then with a desk-ruler.

adjusting the extension-pieces to the necessary points, extending each equally or the one less than the other, as convenience dictates. The user can then open or close the book or turn the subsequent leaves thereof with his left hand while otherwise employing his right hand, the marker during such operations retaining its position by reason of the guide and holder. As the work progresses the marker will be shifted up or down a page by means of its handle or by grasping its body. To effect ink-rulings, the marker will be removed and inverted, being placed face down on the surface to be ruled. For papercutting the marker will be grasped by its holding end, its arms inserted within the paper to be cut, and then used to sever the latter, as is the ordinary paper-cutter. For tearing paper the bottom face of the body G will be laid on the paper, the body held tightly thereon, and the free portion of the paper raised and torn, as is ordinarily done When its use is not required, the marker can'be removed, its extension-pieces moved to the inward position, and it can be hung up or laid away, as de sired.

It will be seen that my invention provides an improved article which can be readily and advantageously availed of, and it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular details of construction, arrangement, use, and combination set forth as constituting its perferred form, since it can be availed of in whole or in part accord ing to such details of construction, arrangement, or combination, or for such uses as circumstances or the judgment of those skilled in the art may dictate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a simple modification of the invention, in which the marker is lettered A and is in all substantial respects identical with the lefthand portion of the marker shown in Fig. 1 and bears the same letters of reference as this portion, from which it differs only in that it is not provided with extension-pieces and sliding or holding provisions therefor. This is a form which will be of general utility where an extension-marker is not required.

Fig. 3 shows another modification of a nonextensible marker lettered A, which only dif fers from the marker described with reference to Fig. 2 in that the guide I is of curved or semicircular form in vertical section between the body G and the holder J, and the handle K projects from the middle of the guide in direction parallel with the body. In other respects this construction bears the same letters of reference for like struction shown in Fig. 1.

What I claim is- 1. In line-markers and like articles, two relatively immovable longitudinal arms,

parts as the conunited together at one end and separated at the other end, having parallelline-indicating edges in close proximity on their adjacent sides, and a transverse portion between and immovably connecting said arms at one end, and extensions projecting from their free ends, said arms having between their adjacent edges a visual slot extending uninterruptedly from said transverse portion to and between and beyond their other ends, and between said extensions.

2. In line-markers and likearticles, two relatively immovable longitudinal arms, united together at one end and separated from such point to and at the other end, having parallel marking edges in close proximity on their adjacent sides, and a transverse portion between and immovably connecting said arms at one end, said arms having a continuous and uninterrupted visual slot between their adjacent edges extending from said transverse portion to and between and open at their other ends, and each of a like width several times that of said slot, said arms having an integral downwardly-extending guide at their united ends for engaging the edges of a book and holding the marker in position.

3. In line-markers for the leaves of books, and like articles, an elongated arm having a line-indicating portion adapted to rest on the face of a leaf, and a downwardly-extending guide immovably connected to the outer end of said arm and having a downwardly and outwardly extending oblique and approximately straight inner surface for fitting against the outer side edges of a number of leaves when the book is open, said inner surface meeting the under face of said arm at an angle, for receiving the edge of the uppermost leaf, and approximating in obliquity the slant of such edges, and an inwardly-extending holder, below said arm and projecting rigidly from the outer part of said guide for passing below the leaves engaged thereby and preventing lifting of the marker.

4. In line-markers for the leaves of books, and like articles, an elongated arm having a line-indicating portion adapted to rest on the face of a leaf, and a downwardly-extending guide immovably connected to the outer end of said arm and having a downwardly and outwardly extending inner surface for fitting against the outer side edges of a number of leaves when the book is open, and an inwardlyextending immovable holder, parallel with and below said arm and projecting rigidly from the outer part of said guide for passing below the leaves engaged thereby and pre- Venting lifting of the marker.

5. In line-markers for the leaves of books, and like articles, two relatively immovable longitudinal arms, separated at one end, connected together at the other end, and having parallel adjacent line-indicating edges, and having between them an uninterrupted visual vslot extending from their connected end to passing under the leaves engaged by said 10 guide.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD P. THOMAS. Witnesses:

HENRY P. SENIOR,

GEORGE H. FRASER. 

